Lawyer: 'Jena Six' Teen Near Plea Deal


NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A black teenager whose prosecution in the beating of a white classmate led to one of the largest civil rights protests in years is close to a deal that would allow him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor and avoid a second trial, his attorney said Sunday.

Mychal Bell, 17, could enter the plea as early as Monday, said attorney Carol Powell Lexing. He has been charged with aggravated second-degree battery and conspiracy.

"We were prepared to go forward with the trial, but you have to do what's best for the client," Lexing said.

LaSalle Parish District Attorney Reed Walters did not return a call Sunday evening requesting comment.

Bell, who is black, is scheduled to go to trial Thursday on the felony charges for his suspected role in an attack on Justin Barker, a white student at Jena High School in central Louisiana.

Barker spent several hours in the emergency room after the attack but was discharged and attended a school event the night after the attack, which occurred about a year ago.

Bell was originally charged as an adult with attempted murder. That charge was reduced before a jury convicted him in June of aggravated second-degree battery. In September, that verdict was thrown out by an appeals court that said Bell should be tried as a juvenile.

The charges against Bell and five other black students led to a civil-rights demonstration in Jena in September. Felony charges against the other students are pending.

Critics said prosecutors have treated blacks more harshly than whites in LaSalle Parish, pointing to an incident three months before the attack on Barker in which three white teens were accused of hanging nooses from a tree at the high school. The three were suspended from school but never criminally charged.

Walters has said there was no state crime to charge them with.


The Associated Press: Lawyer: 'Jena Six' Teen Near Plea Deal

'Jena 6' teen admits fault in plea deal


By Marisol Bello, USA TODAY
The teen at the center of the "Jena Six" case pleaded guilty Monday to hitting a white classmate in an agreement that will allow him to go free by June.
The plea agreement for Mychal Bell, 17, is a significant step in closing the case of the six black youths who were first charged with attempted murder for beating classmate Justin Barker. Bell's initial conviction as an adult brought at least 20,000 protesters to Jena, La., where the incident occurred.

"This settlement gives Mychal Bell the opportunity to move forward with his life and his dreams," said Alan Bean, director of Friends of Justice, a civil rights organization.

Plea agreements for the five other defendants may follow, said David Utter, an attorney for an unidentified juvenile charged in the case. Utter said he has discussed a possible plea with prosecutor Reed Walters.

In the agreement, Walters dropped conspiracy charges against Bell and reduced an aggravated battery charge to second-degree battery. Bell was sentenced to serve 18 months, which includes the year he already spent in jail.

He had been scheduled to go to trial Thursday. If convicted, he could have been sent to a juvenile facility until he was 21.

The deal allows Bell to be released to a group home and return to public school as early as Monday. He agreed to testify against the other five if their cases go to trial.

Barker and his family were in court when the deal was announced. They showed no reaction and left without speaking to the news media. They could not be reached later.

Walters said he and the Barkers are pleased with the outcome and glad that they will receive restitution. Bell was ordered to pay $935 toward court costs and Justin Barker's medical bills.

"Everybody here is delighted that there is closure coming to this," said Billy Fowler, a school board member.

Bell had been held in an adult jail since last December. He was released in September after his conviction was overturned by an appeals court. He was sent to a juvenile facility in October for violating his probation on unrelated previous convictions for simple battery and criminal destruction of property.

"This was in Mychal's best interest," said one of his attorneys, Carol Powell Lexing. "He can put all of this behind him."

Bell and the other defendants became symbols to African-Americans who say the justice system treats blacks more harshly than whites.

"This is a victory," said Tony Brown, a local radio host. "Reed Walters was set that he would not let any of these young men go. … But this thing sparked a civil rights movement. It shows how we can do something about injustices if we speak up."

'Jena 6' teen admits fault in plea deal - USATODAY.com

Victim in Jena 6 Case Sues Over Beating


JENA, La. (AP) — The family of the victim in the "Jena Six" case has sued the adults accused of beating him, the families of the juveniles allegedly involved and the board of the school where the attack occurred.

Justin Barker and his parents, David and Kelli, also accuse a seventh, uncharged student of being part of the group that attacked Justin on Dec. 4, 2006, as he walked out of Jena High School's gym headed to another class.

The lawsuit was filed Nov. 29 in state district court. It alleges that the LaSalle Parish School Board is liable because school employees were not adequately supervising students and failed to maintain discipline.

The charges against the students accused of attacking Barker led to a civil-rights demonstration in Jena in September by activists who alleged local authorities were prosecuting blacks more harshly than whites.

Barker is white; those accused of attacking him are black. One of the defendants, 17-year-old Mychal Bell, pleaded guilty Monday to a second-degree battery in return for an 18-month sentence, with credit for 10 months he already has served.

Five of the six students charged, including Bell, originally faced attempted murder charges. Bell was convicted in adult court and could have received 15 years in prison, but the conviction was thrown out by an appellate court that said he should have been tried as a juvenile.

Felony charges against the other students are pending.

Barker spent several hours in the emergency room after the attack but was discharged and attended a school event the night after the attack.

Critics of LaSalle Parish prosecutors point to an incident three months before the attack on Barker in which three white teens were accused of hanging nooses from a tree at the high school. The three were suspended from school but never criminally charged; District Attorney Reed Walters has said there was no state crime to charge them with.

The suit names the attackers as the Jena Six students — Mychal Bell, Jesse Beard, Theo Shaw, Bryant Purvis, Carwin Jones and Robert Bailey Jr. — as well as a seventh student, Malcolm Shaw, who has not been charged.

"My son Bryan Purvis is the one that tried to break the fight up and they're making me spend too much money trying to defend him," said his father, Billy Purvis Sr.

Messages left for Bailey's and Jones' families were not immediately returned Tuesday, and no one answered phone calls made that afternoon to the high school and the school board. Others named in the lawsuit could not be immediately reached.

The Associated Press: Victim in Jena 6 Case Sues Over Beating